On January 14, 2020, Max Bell MPP students had the opportunity to meet mentors working across a range of fields. The evening was organized by Catherine Stace, the newly appointed Career Services Manager at the Max Bell School.
"It is vital that today’s leaders become mentors for the leaders of the future. The Max Bell School of Public Policy is committed to creating those opportunities for both our students and policy professionals who want to make a contribution to training up-and-coming changemakers,” explained Catherine about her objectives for organizing the event.
The MPP Speed Mentoring event was a series of short focused conversations about specific career exploration questions. Each mentor met with a group of current Max Bell MPP students for 10-minutes at a time. That meant each student had the opportunity to meet with multiple mentors.
"Each discussion was different, and I enjoyed hearing from professionals who were in my field. I would greatly recommend it for any masters student," recounted Max Bell MPP Student Sebastian Muerman.
Mentors enjoyed the experience almost as much as the students.
“I was impressed by the insightful questions and the richness of the exchanges. As a young politician, it is inspiring to see the determination and curiosity of these young leaders who are actively studying and working toward transforming public policy. Overall - an enriching experience,“ said Rosannie Filato, Executive committee member in charge of public security.
“Meeting the students of the Max Bell School at the mentoring event was inspiring. The people I met have already accomplished so much and their questions and plans suggest that they are on their way to even greater things. I would be glad to remain connected with the participants in the future,” added David Ainsworth, Head of the Communications Unit of the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, United Nations Environment Programme.
The event was useful for Max Bell MPP students, who are already starting to think about their next steps after graduating this summer.
"As someone thinking about job opportunities following the Max Bell MPP program, I am interested to speak with experienced professionals who work in fields relating to public policy. Attending a speed mentoring event allowed me to very quickly winnow down some interests and have my questions answered by practitioners," concluded Sebastien.
Other Mentors who attended include:
- Keldon Bester, Special Advisor, Competition Bureau
- Lucia Aguilar, Chargée de projets – Étudiants internationaux, Montreal International
- James Hughes, Executive Lead, Government and Partner Relations, McConnell Foundation
- Mehdi El Motie, Associate, McKinsey
- Émilie Brière, Senior Government Relations Advisor, McGill University
- Colin Busby, Research Director, Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP)
- Edyta Rogowska, Secretary-General, McGill University
The event finished with some refreshments and informal exchanges amongst participants. Given the success of the event, Catherine is already in the process of planning her next career experiences for our MPP students.
